Summit held on possible UK-wide deposit return scheme

A summit for a possible UK-wide deposit return scheme (DRS) has taken place today in London between the four UK nations.

Welsh Government Minister for Environment, Hannah Blythyn, and the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, met their UK and devolved government counterparts to discuss this potential scheme.

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The summit has brought the nations together to coordinate work at a UK level and set measures for the design of the scheme across the UK.

A DRS would see people pay a small deposit when they buy a drink in a single-use container and will then get that money back when it is returned empty.

Following the summit, Hannah Blythyn said: “We know about the impact single-use drinks containers are having on our environment, often blighting our countryside or ending up in our seas.

“I welcome working with the other UK nations on a UK-wide deposit return scheme. There appears to be a collective appetite for a scheme from all UK nations, so this would be the most practical and effective way to implement a scheme.

“We are considering a number of solutions to reducing the impact of single-use plastics on our environment in Wales. Any scheme we introduce must be the best for Wales and work alongside our existing policies, which have made us first in the UK and third in the world for household recycling.”